Shorewest Shares: How Do Buyers Shop For Homes?

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SS6How do home buyers shop for new homes? If you’re a new buyer wondering where to start, or a seller wondering where to showcase your home, Shorewest shares: how buyers shop for homes.

According to the National Association of REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, home buyers are relying on online resources to help them start the home-buying process. First-time home buyers want to learn about the home-buying process by reading online content, comparing notes with friends and family, and searching online for homes.

The Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers found buyers over the age of 45 are more traditional. They enjoy talking to real estate agents and driving by homes with the “For Sale” sign yards. However, 50% of buyers under the age of 45 began their search online and then scheduled a time to walk through their potential home choices.

Almost all home buyers today start online to search for homes. In the mid-1990s, online home searches were in the single digits. The National Association of REALTORS® found the use of the internet hasn’t sped up the home-buying process. Internet buyers are taking twice as long to search for a home and visiting three times as many homes as traditional buyers.

One thing that won’t change: real estate agents are still the most important source of information for home buyers. According to the National Association of REALTORS®, internet home buyers were more likely to contact a real estate agent (89%) than buyers who did not use the internet to search for homes (70%).

Buyers who use the internet made greater use of other information sources, such as real estate agents, yard signs and open houses. Home buyers still rank real estate agents as the most useful source of information, compared to the internet, yard signs, billboards, television, open houses, newspapers and print advertisements. Buyers often found the home they purchased more through a real estate agent than the internet.

Wondering where to start your search? Contact a Shorewest agent to help you start your home search, or help you showcase your home effectively.

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Categories: Home Buying

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